Carnival Booking Ethics?

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Followthesun

Guest
We signed up for our third Carnival cruise in 14 months last week. The rate we paid allowed only lower deck cabins unless we paid to upgrade up a deck or two....shucks.

The booking specialist advised us that if we bought then but called back next week (today) that there was a big "sale" going on and that if there were cabins available at that time she would upgrade our current assignment.

Cool.

So today comes and we call in only to find that in order to get those promised (and now available) upgrades we would need to pay the "new" price for the booking which happens to exactly what we were offered for the upcharge the week before.

Sort of like car shopping and being told a that a CD player is $200 but if you buy today and wait one week, there is a big sale and you can get the CD player free. Only to find out a week later that you do get the free CD player, but you now have to pay the $400 upcharge for the car price.

It seems like an ethics issue to me, but at the very least I felt like I needed to take a shower after talking to their Guest relations people about it, they were like talking to a wall (a dirty wall).

Royal Carribean next time.
 
J

John Cruise

Guest
I always booked online. Until last year, I called a guy with Carnival (the one that sends you a thousand e-mails). I didnt see any difference in booking it online or going thru someone. He gave me the same price as the online (Carnival.com) price. All rooms available online matched what he had. But......what seemed strange was that he asked me if I wanted a better room (spot) on the ship other than what I requested. Doesnt everyone have a place they like? So I said o.k. lets see what you have. It was a different deck and room--nothing special. I said no thanks. Question: what was that about? The only thing I saw was that the room I wanted had a pull down bunk. ---Anyway I just booked a cruise online a few days ago on Carnival.com for July 08. Conquest...I may not have helped but its some info..John
 
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Followthesun

Guest
He was likely trying to get rooms booked on less popular parts of the ship. He may have been trying to help, but frankly, I am suspicious of their sales team right now, I would describe the "supervisor" I spoke to as sounding like a used car salesman, but that would be an insult to used car salesmen.

This was "bait and switch" on Carnival's part and boils down to ethics.....or lack thereof.
 
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Mbandy

Guest
One thing to take note of for future reference is that special promotions are usually for new bookings only and do not apply to existing bookings. Sounds like you were misinformed. Next time you might try a reputible travel agent to run the gauntlet for you.
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
I must be missing something here. What I am reading is that you were originally offered an "up sell" (pay more, get a better cabin). However, you were told if you called back one week later there would be a sale going on. So you called back one week later and found out that while there was a sale, there had also been a price increase. The net result being that you were being offered the same deal as before. Do I have this right?

If I do have this right, the only problem I see is that during the original call you were lead to believe that by calling back in one week you could get a better deal. You called back in one week and instead of a better deal, you got the same deal repackaged. If this is correct, I don't see the "bait and switch" tactic that everyone else seems to see. What am I missing?
 
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Mbandy

Guest
If I read it right the OP was booking but was told that if they called back in a week, they would get a special sale deal. If that's the case, then that's not true. As I mentioned before, these special offers are for new bookings only so if Followthesun made a booking today, for example, then that's it, the booking is made. Calling back next week to get a special offer would not work because special offers can not be applied to existing bookings.
 
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bOB

Guest
Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent, Personal Travel Agent,

Sorry if i seem to have repeated myself.............................
 
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Followthesun

Guest
We were told directly and specifically, that we could not be "upgraded" on the day we booked, but if we called back on the specific day in question thay would move us up for free (big sale, they said) if there was availability.

I called back right on time and yes there was availability, but the booking rate had since gone up and we would need to to pay the upcharge to be considered for the upgrade we were promised a week earlier.

The taste left in our mouth from that little trick plus the poor response we got from the Customer Relations people (they made excuses and then tried to upsell us to an even more expensive accomodation) is nasty.
 
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Mbandy

Guest
Sorry that happened to you Followthesun. You were definately misinformed. Most of us T/A's are honest, hard working folks who don't tell stories to get a booking. So read bOB's post again and find yourself a good one for your next booking.
 
S

scrappyconch

Guest
Bob, we've booked our first cruise thru Carnival and then my husband saw the "value" in the vacation club - which there isn't - we are paying $5K for a suite when our friend is paying $3,500 for the same suite...anyway, it's done ...you live and learn...for our next cruise, do you know a good personal booking agent that you can refer us to?

thanks

Scrappy
 
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Mbandy

Guest
Hey Scrappy...

As far as finding a good T/A, there are many who hang out on cruise @ddicts. While the forum rules prohibit us from "advertising" our specific agencies or services on the boards, most of us do not keep it a secret that we are in the business because it adds some credibility to what we post. There are also a number of cruise agencies who have paid advertisements here. Some people prefer to have a local travel agent who they can visit in an office. Others like the convenience of going to the big websites to book.

Whenever you choose a T/A, I recommend the following.

1) Find an agent who is knowledgable. There are some people here on cruise @ddicts who have forgotten more about cruising than some agents know. You don't know how it makes me cringe when I hear an agent mis-pronounce the name of a port...or heaven forbid...the name of a ship :dizzy

2) Select an agency that allows your agent to handle your booking from beginning to end, not one that will just pass you along to the next available agent. Make sure your agent is easily accessable in person by phone. That means a direct number and/or extension number to that specific agent. Some online agencies only have access through e-mail or just to the "next available agent". It is a bad idea to have more than one agent involved in a booking for many reasons.

3) Find an agent who has your best interest in mind, not theirs. I have seen agents over the years who wouldn't give their extention numbers or make a phone call back to a customer who was booking a shorter, inexpensive cruise or even an inside cabin. I have seen others who are happy to get you to book and then ignore requests for "service after the sale". These agents stink. They give us all a bad name. A good T/A always has their clients' best interest in mind. I've said it a million times; no good excuse for bad customer service.

4) Once you've found a good agent, stick with them and recommend them to others. Nothing pleases me more than to have a repeat client or a referral. It is one of the highest complements an agent can receive.

Oh well, off my =soapbox Just my =twocents
 
6

6packEd

Guest
We have booked thru TA's and directly. I have found that none are any better than the other. Our next cruise coming up shortly was booked thru Carnival I learned a lot. I will never book early again. There have been better prices and better offers that we missed out on by doing so. All that hype about booking early to get the best offers and than being upgraded or compensated if something better is offered is a lot of bull. It may work for others but it has not been my experience.
 
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Followthesun

Guest
[quote Mbandy]Sorry that happened to you Followthesun. You were definately misinformed. Most of us T/A's are honest, hard working folks who don't tell stories to get a booking. So read bOB's post again and find yourself a good one for your next booking.[/quote]

This problem did not involve a TA, we booked directly with Carnival when were were snookered.

Wew will use a TA next time, but it will be on Royal carribean.
 
L

LHP

Guest
[quote Followthesun][quote Mbandy]Sorry that happened to you Followthesun. You were definately misinformed. Most of us T/A's are honest, hard working folks who don't tell stories to get a booking. So read bOB's post again and find yourself a good one for your next booking.[/quote]

This problem did not involve a TA, we booked directly with Carnival when were were snookered.

Wew will use a TA next time, but it will be on Royal carribean.[/quote]

Sorry you feel like you were misled in some way, but if you start ruling out cruise lines for things like this,
you won't be cruising very long. There are a dozen people who can tell you about similar complaints (or worse)
on every mass market cruise line. Holding an entire cruise line responsible for the actions of one sales agent
over something as petty as this is short sighted and immature IMO.
 
L

LHP

Guest
On this same topic....looks like Carnival is wanting to get out of the "TA" business.
Leaving it to the professionals is a good move for the cruiser!


Arison: Carnival is reducing direct sales
19/6/2008
Carnival Cruise Lines is decreasing its direct business but expects to see higher yields and lower costs by selling more inventory through travel agents, corporate chairman and ceo Micky Arison said.


WTAA hails Carnival stance on direct sales
20/6/2008
The chairman of the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance, Mike Hatton, responded immediately to Micky Arison’s announcement that Carnival Cruise Lines is reducing direct sales in favour of the travel agency network.
 
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Followthesun

Guest
Well I guess I have never considered misleading sales tactics as "petty". let alone flat out lies.

This was not the action of an individual Carnival sales agent, this was backedup by a supervisor.

UPDATE:

When I really complained to the second supervisor, she told me that she would wait till the end of the day and get us the upgrade we had been promised.

The tickets came....no upgrade.

Anything to get you off the phone.
 
C

Cruzman

Guest
[quote Cruizer]I must be missing something here. What I am reading is that you were originally offered an "up sell" (pay more, get a better cabin). However, you were told if you called back one week later there would be a sale going on. So you called back one week later and found out that while there was a sale, there had also been a price increase. The net result being that you were being offered the same deal as before. Do I have this right?

If I do have this right, the only problem I see is that during the original call you were lead to believe that by calling back in one week you could get a better deal. You called back in one week and instead of a better deal, you got the same deal repackaged. If this is correct, I don't see the "bait and switch" tactic that everyone else seems to see. What am I missing?[/quote]

This marketing ploy is used all the time, most notably at your local grocery store. You walk in the store , they hand you a flier with all those "buy one, get one free" offers. On closer inspection, one finds that the price of the first item has doubled since last week, so you are paying exactly the same price, only they got you to buy two instead of one. Most are aware of the strategy, but for some, the lure of getting something free is too much. When something is offered during a "sale", 'ya gotta do your homework to determine if you are really getting a good deal, or, as you have said, the same deal, just repackaged.
 
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RustyNail

Guest
[quote Followthesun]He was likely trying to get rooms booked on less popular parts of the ship. He may have been trying to help, but frankly, I am suspicious of their sales team right now, I would describe the "supervisor" I spoke to as sounding like a used car salesman, but that would be an insult to used car salesmen.

This was "bait and switch" on Carnival's part and boils down to ethics.....or lack thereof.[/quote]

What rooms are in the "less popular" part of the ships? I'm going on my first cruise in August aboard Paradise and I don't want it to be ruined by a terrible room.

Thanks.
 
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Mbandy

Guest
Hello Rusty Nail and =welcome to Cruise @ddicts.

Not to worry Matey, as far as I am concerned there are no "terrible rooms". I have been on 18 cruises, four of which were on Fantasy class ships like Paradise. The only locations you might want to avoid on any ship are ones below the buffet or above or below a nightclub. I prefer Riviera Deck, the lowest of passenger cabin decks. No public areas to worry about and if you're in an ocean view cabin you're closer to the ocean.

So put your mind at ease. You'll =funsign no matter what.

Under the community forum and stop by and post in the introductions thread I know there are lots of other @ddicts who would like to welcome you to the boards.
 
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RustyNail

Guest
Thanks Mbandy, I'm glad to be here. I'll stop by the introductions board when I get a chance.

Luckily I'm on a lower deck way below the action.
Have you had a room directly behind the elevators? How about 2 elevators? My room is parallel to the ship and it's behind 2 elevators. I'm sure I'll have fun, but I do need to rest once in a while.
 
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